Apparatus for testing tubes.



L. B. & R. B. HOOKER.

APPARATUS FOR TESTING TUBES.

APPLICATION FILED 0012a, 1912.

1,101,932, Patented June 30,1914.

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L. B. & R. B. HOOKER.

APPARATUS FOR TESTING TUBES.

APPLIOATION FILED 00T.3, 1912.

Patented June 30,1914.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LESLIE E. HOOKER, OF BARBINGTON, AND ROSS B. HOOKER, OF EAST PROVIDENCE,

RHODE ISLAND.

APPARATUS FOR TESTING TUBES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 30, 1914.

Application filed October 3, 1912. Serial No. 723,691.

- in the county of Bristol, and at East Providence, in the county of Providence, both in the State of Rhode Island, have invented new and useful Improvements in A-.p ratus for'Testing Tubes, of which the ollowing is a specification.

Our invent-ion consists in an apparatus by means of which small metal tubes can be expeditiousl and conveniently tested: for possible leaks. Its construction andamode of operation will be more: particularly. disclosed in what follows.

In the manufacture of seamless copper tubes with very thin walls, such as areused inautomobile radiators, for example, it-is necessary to testthetubes to see that th'ey are water-tight before assemblingthem to form a: radiator. This is done by immersing the tubes in water,- closingone end and introducing compressed air into the other end and it is the objectof the-present invent-ion to reduce the-time: and labor re quired in-doing this.

While the --apparatus which we havedeveloped-for-t-he said purpose-is not automatic, in the sense of being power-driven, yet a part of'its operation may :properly be termed automatic, since the tubes are laid in position for testing, are: tested, and are subsequentlyremoved without the necessity of the operator touching them with his hands.

Our-invention is illustrated; by way of example, in the accompanying drawing, .in which,

Figure-1 is a plan view, Fig. 2 a longitudinal section, and Fig. 3a transverse sec= tion on the line 3'3I of Fig.- 2.

The apparatus illustrated, which comprises-the features of novelty. of our: invention although these maybe embodied 'in apparatus somewhat variously designed, .consists of'a tank A, connected't-oawater receptacle B, containing afloat G, which can be depressed bya lever 1), whereby the level of the water in-the tank is raised, so as to immerse a set of-tubes which are-inposition to be tested. 7

On-the-bottom of" the tank are mounted two-paralleltube-supporting racks-E, E, providedi'iwithsaw tooth-- notchescr' recesses thereof, is placed an air-conduit N, with a ed. Onv each side of the tank is a railor guide F, on which is slidably mounted a hopper or magazine, consisting of a vertical chute H, open at top and bottom, and an inclined tray G, a spring stop J being pro vided at the lower end of said tray. This hopper carries a handle K, by which it is manually reciprocated along the guides F. A guard rail L is provided on one or both sides, above the guide or guides F, to prevent the hopper from being lifted off said guides when it is reciprocated by the operator.- The rails and racks are inclined upwardly at one end, so that the tubes can be removed from the tank by the movement of the hopper in one direction, as will be further-explained. For this purpose, there are provided two fingers M, M, projecting downwa rdly from the chutev H.

Inside the tank, adjacent to one side flat-side facing inwardly. This conduit is connected to a source of air under pressure, the admission ofwhich' to said conduit is controlled by a gate or valve P, which is actuated by the same lever D that operates the float C. The front side of the conduit N is perforated with holes Q, spaced opposite the notches in the racks E, E.

Adjacent the side of the tank, opposite the conduit N, is a bar R, which is movable bodily toward and away from the rack on that side. Its said movement is imparted by cams S, S, carried by a shaft T, which can be turned by the handle or crank U. The function of the said bar is to engage one end of the tubes in the racks and force their otherend up-against the perforated side .of-the-conduit N. Since, however, the tubes are not always all of exactly the same length,

it isnecessary to provide some yielding means on said bar, adapted to accommodate itself to .thevarying lengths of tube. Such means may'consist of a flexible packing strip V, secured to the. heads of studs or plungers 100 W, mountedin sockets in the bar R, oppo- Site. the notches in the racks, and pressed outwardly by springs X. The frontside of the-conduit Nis also provided with a packring" strip Y of rubber or the like, perfo- 105 rated, of course, in front of the holes in said conduit. I g

The: mode of. operation of the apparatusdescribedabove is :as follows, it being-understood-:thatwe do not "wish to'limitourselves llo to the exact construction shown, the details of which may obviously be considerably modified without changing the general func tion of the apparatus. The operator fills the tray G with tubes, the hopper then being at the end of the tank where the rails and racks are inclined upwardly. He then retracts the spring stop J, letting the tubes fall into the chute H, the bottom one resting on the racks E, E. The hopper being now run along the rails F, each pair of sawtooth notches e in the racks catches and retains one tube. The shaft T is now turned to bring the yielding strip V on the bar R into engagement with the adjacent end of the tubes now lying in the racks, and thereby to force their other end against the packing strip on the conduit N, the tubes being in communication with the inside of said conduit through the said openings in its face. The lever D is now depressed, the first efiect of which is to raise the water in the tank so as to cover the tubes, and the second efi'ect of which is to open the gate or valve P, admitting air under pressure to the conduit N and thence to the tubes to be tested. If any one of them is not airtight, bubbles will be observed rising from it and it can be removed and discarded. N ow the hopperis run back along the rails and, in doing so, its fingers M, M, engage the tubes and the inclined s1des of the notches e raise them successively into the chute H, the hopper finally running up the inclined ends of the rails so that the tubes are delivered over the end of the tank into a suitable receptacle. The operation is then repeated. I

Having thus described our invention, what webelieve is novel and desire to protect by Letters Patent is expressed in the following claims.

Weclaim Y 1. An apparatus for testing 'thin metal tubes for leaks, comprisin in combination a tank adapted to contain Water, meanstherein to support a plurality of tubes in spaced relation, a chute slidably.mounted over said tank and adapted to deliver tubes successively to said supporting means, means movably mounted wit in and adjacent to one side-of said tank to engage and close one end of the tubes thus supported, and a fiat-faced conduit within said tank adj acent to theother side thereof, against the face of which conduit the other end of the tubes are pressed by said movable means, the said face ofsaid conduit having openings spaced correspondingly with said supporting means and said con uit being connected to a source of compressed air. 1 1

2. An apparatus for testing thin metal tubes for leaks, comprising in combination a-tank manually o erable means to vary the level of. water yt erein, tube-supporting in its side facing said notches, a movable bar at the other side of the tank and pro vided with yielding abutments on its inner face to engage one end of the tubes in the racks and press their other end against said conduit, means slidable over said tank to deposit the tubes successively in said notches and, on its return stroke, to gather them up therefrom, and means to control the supply of compressed air to said conduit.

8. An apparatus for testing thin metal tubes for leaks, comprising in combination a tank, a pair of saw-tooth racks in said tank, means to force water into said tank to cover said racks, means to deposit the tubes to be tested in said racks and to subsequently remove them therefrom, means to supply compressed air into one end of said tubes,

and means to close the other end of said tubes.

4. An apparatus for testing thin metal tubes for leaks, comprising in combination, a tank connected to a source of Water supply, a pair of saw-tooth racks in said tank, a traveling chute to deposit the tubes in said racks, one end of said racks being inclined upwardly at one end of said tank, means depending from said chute to gather the tubes up out of the racks and to carry them over said end of the tank after having been tested, a fixed air conduit in one side of said tank having perforations in its face opposite the saw-teeth in said racks, means to close one end of said tubes and force their other end against said conduit, and manually operable means to first force water into said tank and then admit compressed air into said conduit.

5. An apparatus for testing thin metal tubes for leaks, comprising in combination, a water-tank, a support therein at each side thereof notched at regular intervals to support the tubes horizontally in said tank in parallel relation, means reciprocable above said supports for delivering the tubes in succession to the same in its forward stroke and to remove them therefrom in its return stroke, a perforated conduit running parallel to one of said supports, a bar running parallel to the other of said supports, means to move said bar into engagement with the ends of the tubes so as to press their other end against said conduit, and means .to successively raise the water level in said tank so as to immerse the tubes and to admit air under pressure to said conduit.

6. An apparatus for testing thin-walled metal tubes for leaks, comprising. .in .combination, a water-tank, notched supports for the tubes therein, a carriage slidably mounted, above said supports and adapted to deliver the tubes to said supports in its travel in one direction and to remove them therefrom on its return, a perforated conduit running along one side of said tank opposite one end of the tubes, 21. solid bar running along the other side of the tank opposite the ot er end of the tubes, means to move said bar to press the tubes against said conduit and means to supply compressed air to the latter.

7. An apparatus for testingthin-walled metal tubes for leaks, comprising in combination, a water-tank, means therein to support the tubes in parallel spaced relation, a

correspondingly perforated conduit in one side of said supports and a movable bar on the other side, spring-pressed studs in the side of said bar toward the su ports and similarly spaced, a strip of flexib e material carried by the heads of said studs, means to 20 introduce compressed air to said conduit, and means to move said bar toward and away from the supports, as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof We have hereunto '25 set our hands In presence of two subscribing witnesses.

LESLIE EQHOOKER. ROSS B. HOOKER. Witnesses:

HENRY J. PICKERSGILL, JESSIE L. SHERMAN. 

